Temptations to Sin

 

 

Mark 9:42-50

 

Temptations to Sin

 “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.   And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire.^[  And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell.   And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, ‘where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.’  For everyone will be salted with fire.   Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”

Let us begin with this insight from my Holman Study Bible. Page1701 regarding verses 43-48, The body parts and admonitions are figures of speech that warn disciples to guard their sight and actions against participation in evil, for recklessness here can lead to spiritual downfall.  That seems to make good sense, the Scripture tells us that some of the pagan gods required the cutting of the flesh.

When I was in my thirties I was very young in the faith, though I had been raised in the church, I only came to know Christ at the age of 27.  I wanted to do whatever the leadership of the church wanted, and they wanted Jan and me to work with the youth, there was not a youth pastor.  We needed to be in a class under a teacher of the Scripture, I needed to be under a mentor.  That did not happen in the Church, it happened in the workplace, by a man in the oil business named Jack Archer, who was also a new follower of Christ.  Jack taught me all that he understood, and that was I was loved by God.

The Scripture is very clear not to give a novice a role of leadership, in 1 Timothy 3:6, “He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil.”  Often, the leader of a local church needs so much help they ignore what God has stated in His Word and take any person with a zeal to be used.  Outside of the church my mentor Jack was the regional director for Lay Witness Mission, Jan and I became part of that also because we saw God was doing great things, it was not long before Jack ask me to be a leader and I took a team to a church and led in the weekend's activity.  Then the pastor of my church told me I had received the most votes to be a deacon, and guess what I got so full of myself that I was an easy target for the evil one.  I can only say I am so thankful that God is a forgiving Father and does not give us what we deserve.

 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice